|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- A ROAD MAP OF ARCTICA--CUP 24--"THE BEATLES" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  A Road Map of Arctica  ||  -------> (Cup SRrm024, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Comma's office was dark, but I saw a crack of light from a closet. So I opened the closet and saw that it led into a narrow hallway that shouldn't have been there, with the faint sound of music. "Hello?" I said loudly, to no response, so I walked down the hallway to a point where it turned left. I turned the corner and beheld a scene that chilled me. Comma was standing in a small room smiling at me. John Lennon was sitting by a table, playing Super Mario 64 on a Nintendo 64 video game system on a big black Sony TV monitor. George Harrison was on the other side of the room standing over a stereo system, which was playing a live version of the Nirvana song "Lithium". Next to the stereo was the "Beatles Anthology" video set, still in the shrinkwrap, with a pricetag reading "$99.99". John was guiding Mario through a snowy iceworld, and he exclaimed "Wow! Wow!" as Mario fell into a chasm. Then he turned to look at me with a stoned-out glance and said "Look, it's a green-haired man, a green haired man." George turned slowly, his eyes looking very tired and said "Hello." My eyes were wide with astonishment, and I was at a loss for words as I stared at Comma. "Daptin, my man!" he said as he strode forward and held out his hand. I didn't respond. I was livid. "What are you doing?" I said through clenched teeth. He turned around and surveyed the room, then looked back at me a big grin on his face. "You know where you are?" I shook my head. "It's London dude! And it's 1966!" Comma said as he slapped me on the shoulder. "Time travel!" he yelled when I didn't respond. John turned to me, away from the game, and said "It's good stuff, son. Comma baby here was kind enough to tell me about how I die in 1980 and how I can go about preventing it." I opened my eyes wider and glared at Comma. John started singing along with the music "I love you, I'm not gonna crack, I kill you, I'm not gonna crack..." "What's the matter man? I thought you'd go ape shit for something like this!" Comma said. "Comma... what are you doing to The Beatles here?" "Come on Daptin!" Comma said defensively. "The Beatles are prime targets for time travellers! I figured I could do a better job than the others. I mean, shit, I hear Yoko Ono was... is... a time traveller from the 22nd Century. I can help these guys." I could see that Comma, too, was fucked-up on some kind of drug. "Yow! Oh! Oh!" John exclaimed as Mario again got killed onscreen. "Comma, where is this Pearl Jam record you told us about, I can't find it." George said in a slurred manner. Comma held a finger up and said "I'll get it." but he didn't move. "When did this all happen?" I asked in a deadly serious tone. Comma shrugged and said "A few weeks ago. It's a great idea. The greatest. I'm going to release Hull concurrently in 1996 New York and 1966 London. It's not such a fucking struggle any more, every day. Back here, with what I got, I can make it as big as I want, make Bill Gates look like a fucking... a fucking..." "A fucking rotten little bastard!" John blurted out, and then he laughed hysterically. "Yeah, that'll do." Comma said. Damn. My presence was corrupting this world. A guy like Comma would never have gotten time travel if the world were normal. But somehow, with me here in this world, things were changing. Like in quantum physics, the act of observing something changes that thing. Then suddenly a stark bell began chiming in the vicinity of the time-hallway. A chill ran though me. "What... what's that?" I asked. "Fucking goddammit!" Comma yelled. "Goddamn time-fucking slip. Goddammit!" "What?" I asked again, unable to raise my voice. "Just ignore him." John Lennon said. "He gets nervous." "Yeah, he's nervous, like." George Harrison said. "Okay guys, shut up." Comma yelled, holding out his hand, as he rushed into the hallway. "Shit!" we heard him yell from in there. "What?" I said loudly. I started to move toward the hallway, but Comma was just coming back. "Two months." he said with disgust. "What?" I asked again. "Two months. We fucking slipped two months again." "Too bad for you two." John said with a smile. "Daptin," Comma said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry man. The time door is a little unstable. Fuck! I'm afraid that when we go back to 1996 it's gonna be two months later. We'll have been gone for two months." Rage surged upward through me. "Two months! Do you... do you know what this means? God damn..." I said, and I started heading for the hallway. Comma grabbed my arm. "Yo man, cool down." "Fuck you!" I yelled, as I ran through the hallway and back to 1996. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----